Parking meters permit vehicles to be parked on streets for an allowable time determined by the number and denominations of coins which are placed in the parking meter. A clock mechanism in the parking meter runs down the allowable time until it reaches zero, and an overtime parking indication appears. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,535,870 (Mitchell); 3,999,372; (Welch); 4,043,117 (Maresca); and 4,183,205 (Kaiser). Furthermore, these meters are subject to coin jams, vandalism, and exposure to the environment, all of which contribute to the need to service these meters. However, the design of these meters are not easily maintained, especially at the meter site. For example, to clear a coin jam, the entire internals of the parking meter have to be disassembled, the coin jam cleared and then the parking meter re-assembled. If the parking authority personnel do not have all of the proper tools, or if the location of the faulty meter is in an area that is not safe for the personnel to be disassembling the meter, the parking meter has to be sent to a maintenance location for service. This results in loss of revenue to the municipality until the meter is back in order.
In addition, with the advent of electronic parking meters, i.e., parking meters having internal electronics in a "parking meter mechanism" that include one or more of the following: LCDs (liquid crystal displays), LEDs (light emitting diode) indicators, electronic coin processors, electronic vehicle detection units, etc. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,967,895 (Speas); 4,823,928 (Speas); 5,407,049 (Jacobs); 5,454,461 (Jacobs); 5,570,771 (Jacobs); and 5,642,119 (Jacobs); 5,442,348 (Mushell). However, such electronic parking meter mechanisms are not readily adapted for quick and easy maintenance in the field.
Therefore, there remains a need for an electronic parking meter mechanism that can be easily maintained and quickly-disassembled and re-assembled by parking authority personnel on the street and while not requiring any tools to accomplish the maintenance. In addition, there remains a need for a set of icon displays that can provide both the patron and the parking authority personnel with various electronic display icons that cover a range of parking meter conditions, especially where the parking meter includes a vehicle detecting apparatus.